Prosecutor to seek death penalty against murder suspect in IMPD officer Perry Renn's death

Diana Penner

diana.penner@indystar.com

Major Davis Jr. could be executed if he is convicted of the slaying of Indianapolis police officer Perry Renn.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said Tuesday that, after discussing the case with Renn's family and others, he will seek the death penalty against Davis, 25.

Curry noted that in the past 18 months, Indianapolis police officers have been shot at 22 times, and two have been killed. However, he acknowledged that even seeking the death penalty against Davis likely won't stop others.

"It is clear that there are those in our city who believe that police officers are fair game," he said, and that the possibility of facing capital punishment is unlikely to change those attitudes. "I would hope so, but I would have to admit that it's probably not a deterrent."

In a written statement issued through the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Renn's widow said she was grateful for the deliberation given to the decision.

"I want to thank Prosecutor Terry Curry and his office for their careful consideration of all the facts before making this difficult decision," Lynn Renn said in the statement. "He has personally kept me informed and consulted me throughout the entire process.

"I also want to thank my family, the community, FOP Lodge 86, Chief Hite and my IMPD family for their continued support and encouragement during this tough time."

An emotional but composed Latasha Ruffin, Davis' fiancee, said she does not believe Davis should be subject to the death penalty.

"A tragedy happened, and we can't take that back. It's in God's hands," she said in a brief telephone interview.

"The only thing I really have to say is that me and my kids love him and will have his back," Ruffin said, referring to her three children with Davis. "We're a very strong family. That's all we have — is love."

Two "aggravating circumstances" came into play in the Davis case, Curry said: that Renn was acting in his capacity as a police officer, and that the "murder was motivated" by an act Renn performed while acting as a police officer.

Renn and another officer were responding July 5 to a call of shots fired in an alley off 34th Street on the Eastside. Witnesses said Davis fired at Renn with a Romarm 7.62x39 mm assault rifle, a Romanian-made variant of the AK-47.

The last time a death penalty case went to trial was in 2002, when then-Prosecutor Scott Newman tried Benjamin Ritchie for the slaying of Beech Grove police officer William Toney in 2000.

Ritchie received a death sentence and remains on Indiana's Death Row as his case goes through appeals.

Defense attorney Jack Crawford represented Ritchie, and after that, he quit handling death penalty cases. Such cases demand too much, Crawford said, and are not simple for anyone involved.

In the 1980s, Crawford was a prosecutor in Lake County and put 17 people on Death Row. He said he later became an opponent of capital punishment but has seen both sides of the legal battles.

Such cases are tremendously time-consuming and exacting, Crawford said. Public support for the death penalty has declined, and absolute opponents are rejected from death penalty juries. But even those chosen tend to want no doubt to exist before imposing it, he said.

"When you ask for a death sentence, all loose ends have to be tied up," he said. "A jury can't have any doubt."

On the other hand, defense attorneys have to confront citizens who take extreme umbrage if a police officer is killed in the line of duty, Crawford said.

"They think: If you shoot a police officer when he's trying to protect the public, you deserve the death penalty."

For that reason, Crawford said, Davis' attorneys will no doubt try hard to reach a plea agreement that guarantees their client receives life without parole.

Curry also didn't rule out the possibility of a plea agreement. His office has not decided the death penalty is the only acceptable outcome for this case, and facts and circumstances could change before it comes to trial, he acknowledged.

However, he said, that's not the reason he decided to seek capital punishment.

"I absolutely refuse to file capital cases, or life without parole, merely to leverage a plea," he said.

If a plea option developed that the defendant, Curry's office and Renn's family could live with, it remains a possibility, Curry said.

Without a plea, Curry said, it likely would take two years before the case goes to trial, and years of appeals would be likely to follow if Davis were convicted.

Curry also said he hopes the community understands the lengths to which his office goes before deciding to seek the death penalty. He said he followed a process started in 2011 involving thorough legal review and consultation with many people.

In addition, Curry cited his office's track record of aggressively prosecuting police officers who have run afoul of the law, including David Bisard, convicted of nine felony counts of drunken driving, reckless homicide and criminal recklessness after plowing into a group of motorcyclists with his squad car.